Drug and Alcohol Rehab Solutions for Addiction

Addiction to antidepressants can be confused with withdrawal symptoms when stopping the medication, especially with long term use of antidepressants. Many people have referred to some experiences of fatigue,dizziness and nausea when they abruptly stop taking the medicines. However, these are not true withdrawal symptoms .Often these experiences can be called a discontinuation syndrome. Symptoms of addiction include:preoccupation with taking the medicine at a certain time of day,increasing the dosage even though it may not be prescribed by the doctor,and a drastic change in mood. Abruptly stopping or skipping a dose of some antidepressants can cause withdrawal like symptoms such as insomnia or being jittery. However,this can be prevented by not missing doses and gradually tapering the dose down when the drug is no longer necessary.

Many people who take antidepressants and those who know loved ones take the medication, believe that the drugs are not addictive.. A popular misconception regarding addiction has to do with the idea that an antidepressant can act as a stimulant, however this is not true. Some people use the word dependency rather than addiction to describe their situation. There is a lot of debate on this topic. For people who believe it is addictive, they will argue that we should be able to deal with life without any medication. To have a need to cope with life by pills is not natural. Others say that their is a chemical imbalance and that medication is what will rebalance things. Certainly for bipolar disorder
a chemical imbalance can be studied. Though lithium is not used as much as in the past, lithium levels are measurable. Liberals such as Peter Kramer will say that it is not addictive.

An antidepressant is medication that relieves depression.These types of drugs were first produced in the 1950’s and pretty much used ever since.There are over thirty kinds of antidepressant medications available and they can be broken down by type. 1.MAOIs (Monoamine oxidase inhibitors) 2.Tricyclics 3.SNRIs (Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors) 4.NASSAs (Noradrenaline and Specific Serotoninergic Antidepressants) 5.SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)

Some professionals say that medications for depression do not cause an addiction that you would see with certain tranquillizers, alcohol or nicotine. You will not need to increase the dosage to get the same type of effects and you will not find that you crave the medication if you stop taking it .Some people may have withdrawal symptoms from to types of medications, which can last between 2 weeks and 2 months. Some individuals have shown symptoms when withdrawing from SSRIs and SNRIs. The symptoms which are not an addiction to antidpressants include:flu like symptoms,stomach upsets, dizziness,vivid dreams,and anxiety. Most people that have experienced withdrawal symptoms say they are mild,however a small number of people have said their symptoms were rather quite severe. Whether one is on antidepressants or not, using exercise, meditation and other tools to cope with life’s disappointments is helpful for balance. In addition, talking things out in psychotherapy can release a lot of the past and help the world seem more friendly and less gloomy. My own view is that they can be taken when one has a difficult period if doctor recommended, but ultimately one needs to find ways to cope with what comes up each day in life with others, traffic, deadlines, kids and other pressure as well as to come to peace with one’s past.